Personality Flipped
by IvyOtaku
Summary: What if when Mikan and Natsume met, Mikan was the troublesome, bad girl? While Natsume was the nice, caring boy? Personalities totally flipped!
1. The Introduction

**Okee, so third fanfic. :D! So i haven't seen any fanfics where their personalities are completely different at the beginning... soo... i thought i'd write one :D and if there already was on, GOMENN!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters**

* * *

"Ok, you can come in now!" the cheery blonde teacher said. A girl with short, chestnut colored hair walked in, with big, but bored looking brown eyes. She slowly stopped next to the teacher. "This is Sakura Mikan. She has the fire Alice, but cannot use it a lot, so please don't ask her about it." She timidly looked over the whole classroom for anyone that stood out. She saw a boy in the back, with deep black, messy hair, and piercing crimson eyes. Except, the piercing eyes weren't all that piercing. They looked… kind. And he was smiling. "Go sit next to Natsume over there in the back. Eh, Natsume, wave your hand so she knows where you are!" the boy with black hair and piercing eyes raised it in midair and shook it. The teacher bent over a bit towards her. "See?" he said with an overly cheery smile. "Now go over there. By the way, I'm Narumi-sensei." He gave Mikan a small push and she missed her step a bit. She turned around and gave him a soul-piercing glance to the side.

"_Don't touch me…"_ she said, then walked through the walkway slowly. The stare gave Narumi-sensei shudders. As she walked some people stared at her. She found this incredibly annoying so she started burning there stuff. A girl with green colored eyes and short, dark green hair that was curled at the ends shot out of her seat and slammed her hands on the table then darted a point in her direction. "Hey! I thought she couldn't use her Alice!" she raged to the point that cat ears grew out of her head. Narumi-sensei laid his hands out in front of him.

"C-Calm down, Shouda-san… It also depends on how much power she uses in her Alice. In this case, it wasn't a lot…" his voice started to fade. He watched Mikan sit next to Natsume and look blandly at the front of the class. "But Sakura-san, you really shouldn't light other people's things on fire…" Mikan shot him another piercing gaze and he stepped back. He noticed many students started laughing, and some were getting scared. He looked around the room to see if anything was lit on fire. Except he then noticed the students were looking at him, not the room. He looked at his clothes. Nothing. Except after a few seconds, he felt his head getting very hot. He touched his hair and burnt his hand. "Sakuraa!" he yelled. She just blinked. He then started panicking and asked for water or an extinguisher.

Mikan didn't care at all. She laid back in her seat and put her legs up on the table. She crossed her legs so that no one would try to look up her skirt. She eyed the stupid teacher making a huge fuss over the small flame on his head. She was disrupted by the amusement when the crimson-eyed boy leaned forward to meet with her eyes.

"Hi! I'm Hyuuga Natsume!" he said with a smile. Mikan just barely nodded at him. She clasped her hands on her stomach and just continued watching the clumsy teacher. Natsume leaned back to reveal a sand blonde boy with clear blue eyes that was holding a white bunny. Natsume showed a hand to the blonde boy, then turned back to Mikan. "This is my best friend Ruka!" Ruka smiled and Mikan just showed him a quick glance with no emotion. Ruka just rested back in his seat.

"Umm, I'll be right back!" said Narumi-sensei with a nervous smile then rushed out the door. When he was gone, he suddenly popped back up. " I forgot! Iinchou, take care of the class!" and he finally left.

"U-Uh, yes…" a boy with brownish-blonde hair and glasses said warily. He folded his hands together nervously and went by a girl with an emotionless expression and short, black hair working on an invention. "Can you help me?" he asked nervously.

"He just went to rinse his head of the flame. He'll be back in a few seconds so calm down." She didn't look up from her invention.

"Ok, I'm sorry Hotaru-chan. It's just that I feel that the new girl is a trouble-maker and…" his voice trailed off when he saw Mikan glaring at him. He knew the look interpreted the sort of, 'stop talking about me or I'll burn you' sort of look. He looked away and started asking random questions to the emotionless girl known as Hotaru with a nervous smile, trying not to look at the threatening Mikan.

**Mikan P.O.V.**

Damn, what is with these people? They're so annoying. And what's with this hyped up kid next to me. It's like he's trying to get my attention. Damn, be a man, stupid kid. And what's with this weird ass teacher that's freakin' touchin' me. Dude lay off. The annoying red-eyed kid leans forward to face me again, and I watch him.

"You know… you shouldn't be laying back like that… some pervert might try to look at your underwear." He said glancing down. I shook my leg a bit. I shrug then close my eyes and lay back.

"Tch. Well aren't you doing being the pervert right now?" I said, shaking my leg a bit out of habit.

"Uh-eh what?" he said backing away.

"Damn, I'm not ignorant. Of course I could see you look down." I open my eyes then kick my legs off the table and sit normally. I turn and smack him across the face. "Pervert." His hair sways to the left and he was obviously awe-struck. I turn back around and go to my original position, with my eyes also closed. I was curious on the response he would give me.

"Wh-what? Who do you think you are, slapping me in the face?" he yelled.

Narumi-sensei came back in with his head slightly wet and his blouse with water stains on it. The class got quiet. I still stayed in my same, relaxed position.

"And who do you think _you _are looking up my skirt?" I said calmly and quietly. I heard some gasps. People were definitely turning to face this way. Of course, it's just a guess. "You know, you should really stop being such a pervert." Haha, I got him. That'll teach him to look up my skirt again.

"Ehh… Natsume? Is everything all right…?" Narumi asked warily.

Natsume stutters a bit. "U-Uh, y-yes!"

"Well then! Let's start class!" the teacher said. I think I hear Natsume growl at me. I peek my eye open and see him looking very embarrassed and frustrated.

"What's your problem?" I hear him bark up. He's shaking his leg. As if he's nervous. "You think you're so special. Why don't you stop trying to act all high and mighty, and stop being so snotty. You're not the only one here." He says with a mean tone to his voice. My eyes shoot open. I raise my head up a bit and look over at him.

"Shut up. You're so annoying. You don't know anything about me and yet you dare to open your mouth at me. Hmp." I lay my head back down and close my eyes. "Shameless, ugly boy." I muttered. He doesn't say anything after that.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Sakura-san needs a partner!" he claps his hands together then looks around the room. "Anyone volunteer…?" he scans the room then stops abruptly. "Oh! Natsume-kun, you would be a good partner for Sakura-san!"

No. I do not want this annoying brat as my partner. _Whatever _a partner does. He seems to be in awe, while as angry as I am, I just sigh and click my tongue to cover my disapproval. I don't wanna make a huge scene. I hear the brat just sigh angrily. I would've expected him to make some sort of big fight with the teacher.

"As a partner, you will guide her around the school. For starters, you will show her where each of her classes are, where her room is, and so on. Maybe over the weekend you two could spend time together at Central Town!" he cheered. Spend time together? Disgusting way to put it. Sounds like I'm going on a date with this jerk. Ew.

:~After Class~:

I walk out of class while the idiot behind me is babbling something about technical classes or latent…

"So do you know what class you're in?" he asked me straight-faced. Earlier the teachers told me something about me being in the dangerous class. I'm guessing that's what he's talking about.

"Earlier, the teachers told me something about a dangerous class…" I shrugged. For one, I don't like taking much, and second, I don't like him so I don't feel like talking to him. But it's strange. He talks as if nothing really happened. I just completely embarrassed him; not that I regret it; and he talks like nothing happened.

I looked at his face and it became a bit upset. Like disappointed. What, was there something wrong with it? Well, I have to say, the word 'dangerous' doesn't make it sound like the nicest class.

"D-Dangerous…?" he asked warily. I nod nonchalantly. "O-Ok, uh, follow me." we walked out of the classroom. Past each door, he looked at each golden door signs' label. Just then, a question pops into my mind.

"Hey." I say sternly. He turns his head halfway with a bland face then turns back.

"Hm." He asked.

"What's your Alice?" I asked directly. There was some silence before he spoke up.

"Why should I tell you?" he said boringly. I roll my eyes.

"We're both Alices. The people you shouldn't tell your Alice to are enemies and non-Alices. Simple."I said straightforwardly. He makes a long sigh.

"I have the nullification Alice-." He hesitated. It sounded like he was going to say another one. I wonder why he didn't tell me. _If _he would have told me.

"Do you have another Alice?" I asked. He doesn't respond.

"I… might tell you that another time. Right now you're kind of… unpredictable." He turned to a left hallway and started to slow down.

Unpredictable? What does that mean?

He stopped at the first door in the hallway and waved me towards it. "This is it." He gestured me towards it.

"Ok." I slowly walk towards the door.

"By the way, from what I've heard, you probably don't wanna make the teacher on your bad side." He leaned against the wall. I nodded again and I reached for the handle. "And when you're done and need help with finding anything, my class is the second room in the hallway over there." He pointed to the hallway next to ours. I nodded again for the thousandth time these five minutes. "Ok, later… Polka dots." He said devilishly and started to walk towards his class. What. The. Hell. I held the knob and it started to shake a bit and turn red from the heat out of my hand.

"If you _ever..._" I grit through my teeth. He also stops walking and faces me. "Call me polka dots again…" the knob was shaking even more and turning redder as I grasped it harder. I look over at him with a half-turned head and glare at him. "_I will burn every single hair on your body off_…" I shake the knob so hard it starts to make rattling noises. He just laughs sarcastically and continues walking.

"I'd like to see you try!" he waved. "Don't you remember?" he turns around to face me with a smirk. "I have the nullification Alice." He smiles again devilishly and walks away towards his class.

UGH! I HATE HIM! I shake the knob very hard, and it gets heated so much that I leave a hand print on it and smoke comes out of it. I groan loudly and just wait outside the door. Damn… they'll probably have me pay for it… As I contemplate outside the door, it opens.

A tall man with shaggy black hair, various large rings covering his fingers, a white mask and wearing all black opens the door. With the least satisfied face. I really couldn't help but stare. At least I did it with a bland face so I don't exactly look weird. He eyes me head to toe.

"You must be Sakura Mikan." I just nod. "You could have just walked in, instead of rattling the knob annoyingly." I just blink and he sighs, obviously irritated. "Welcome to the dangerous class." He steps aside and I slowly enter and just stare at the whole class. I hear the door shut and hear his haunting voice right by my ear. "You _will_ pay for the door knob," Crap. I was hoping that he wouldn't notice. "Except you will pay for it with your body." I watch him walk away from me and he just turns around and smirks at me.

* * *

**Teehee, so please tell me what you think ^_^ and if you would like another chapter**


	2. Welcome to the Dangerous Class

**I don't own gakuen alice**

**::~Natsume's P.O.V.~::**

Hmm… I wonder how Mikan was holding up in the dangerous class. Not that I cared! She's such a pain! And she acts like she's so cool! Really? What's with that? She's my partner now, so I'm supposed to look out for her, though. I wonder… if there's a reason why she acts like that… I mean, I don't think people just act like that. She acts as if she has absolutely nothing to lose in her life.

Wait a minute…

I just remembered something I saw on her body. They looked like… rope burns. And many cuts… I guess I didn't notice it very much because I was so caught up in trying to defend my self from her bullying. I wonder where those came from. They didn't look normal, and they were in places on her legs and even small ones on her face. I don't think those could've have come from just a fall, or crashing yourself against some branches.

She probably needs a friend. Even though she's evil and twisted, she would probably feel better if she had a friend. One that she can trust. She probably feels very lonely. She didn't give off a very good impression; so many people are probably scared of her. From today's tease, she looks really funny when you make fun of her. I should tease her more and see if she'll get irritated… in a friend way.

"Oi! Natsume-kun! We need your help on something!" said my classmate, Andou-kun.

"Ah, yes, senpai!" I run over to them.

** ::~Mikan P.O.V.~::**

I watch Persona walk away and enter some other room. That was so weird what he just told me. "_Pay with your body_." What the hell? I shake the thought off and try to focus on something else. I look around the whole class and all I see is a classroom that gives off a very dark aura. I see a very shy looking girl with curly light brown hair. It looks like she's practicing something with ice. Woah, an ice Alice. She kept flinching every time she let out a burst of ice. Maybe she's scared of it, or… it hurts? That's a pretty cool Alice but I wont admit it in person.

I look around some more and see a middle school boy trying to handle electricity through his fingers, but it kept wandering off somewhere. I look around some more then something catches my eye.

A very small boy all-alone.

He had grayish brown hair, with very light turquoise eyes. He seemed very alone and sad. The little boy is only about three and he was probably forced to go to this academy. And on top of that, the dangerous class. Terrible. I approach him cautiously, aware that he may have a really dangerous Alice and crouch down in front of him.

"H-…Hi…" I say straight-faced. Like always. He looks up at me with those large,turquoise; and yes, adorable, eyes and stares at me. We stay like that for a while, until I see a grey cloud form behind him. Then, ghoulish faces formed on them and they multiplied! Ghosts? Spirits? I wasn't really scared, more surprised and I couldn't help but stare at it.

"He has the evil spirit manipulation Alice. His name is Youichi." Says a cold voice. I look up and see a guy in a high school uniform with night black hair that falls around his face and black eyes. He stares at me for a while without any emotion. I just nod. I don't really wanna make any friends. "What's your Alice?" he says sternly. I sit flat on the ground in front of the boy and look up at the guy.

"Fire," I say. But he will probably ask me to show it to him and I don't really want to waste my Alice on stupid things. "But I can't show it to you. It's my Alice type."

He nods in understanding what I meant. It was pretty vague so I'm surprised he got it. "I understand."

"So what's yours?" I ask leaning back. He looks at me and sighs.

"…Bug pheromone." He says hesitantly. I just nod. To be honest, the only person I wanted to talk to was Youichi. Even though he was just a toddler. "Well then. Bye." He starts to walk away.

"Wait." He abruptly stops and turns his head around. I wanted to ask him something before he leaves.

"What's your name?"

"Yakumo Hajime. Yours?"

"…Sakura Mikan." He nods then walks away. That was weird. I turn to face Youichi who is staring blankly at the floor.

"So… your names' Youichi?" I ask leaning forward a bit. He just nods. I sigh and just figure he doesn't really want to talk much. I stand up and try to find a place to sit with where there's not many people. As I took a few steps forward, I then felt a tug on my blouse. I turn around and see Youichi.

He stares at me with his large turquoise eyes and finally speaks up.

"O… Onee-chan…?" he musters. This actually made me incredibly happy. I'm guessing he's my first _real_ friend here.

"Yes…" I manage to crack up a smile. "Youichi." I sway him up in my arms and carry him. He was a bit unsure but then grabbed the side of my back and rested his head on my chest.

I find an empty seat near the back of the classroom and sit there with Youichi. I sit down, not exactly knowing what to do and just wait. I decide to maybe try to talk to Youichi face to face. I try to lift him up, but he hardens the grasp on my uniform. Wh-… no one ever really chooses to be with me… I decide to let him stay there and just wrap my arms around him. He closes is eyes and snuggles to me.

"Onee- chan…" he whispered. I was in total shock. My eyes widen and I stare at him in disbelief. Before I knew it, a tear crept up in my left eye. I quickly wiped it away. _No. I will never cry again._ I closed my eyes and sat there for a while.

"Hey. I need to talk to you." Ugh. Someone always disturbs my quiet time. My eyes shot open and see _him._ Persona. He was glaring at me. I stand up and stare back at him, with Youichi still in my arms. He still doesn't move. As if testing me. What, Youichi can't come? He's just a little kid. He won't understand anything. "Put the kid down." I stare at him for a few more seconds, then resentfully set him on the ground and pat him on the head. He looks up at me with a questionable face.

"Onee-chan…?" he asked. I sadly look down and turn away.

"Let's go." He turns around and walks towards the secret room.

As I walk, I turn around to see Youichi still staring at me with a questionable look. Except this time with glassy eyes. 'I'm sorry' I mouthed. I turn away before I could see any of his reactions.

I enter the mysterious room and stand in the middle.

"I see you've made a friend." He says while smirking. I don't respond at all. He chuckles mysteriously. "Ok then… you're going to need training. I do not really think you can control your Alice very well." He said. What? Why do I need training? Training for what? I do not feel like talking at all, so I look for something to set on fire. I see a plant that didn't look very well taken care of, so I decided to try it out. I focused on one of the leaves and try to set it on fire.

And it worked.

I stared at the flame that was spreading on the leaf. I actually did that? Wait but, I did it in class today… I think I did that subconsciously though. Out of anger. I come back to reality that I set it on fire, so I show him my glance and aim it towards the plant. I hope he gets what I'm trying to show. He stops talking about- whatever he was talking about- and turns around. He looks at it then turns back at me.

"Did you do that?" he asks with a mysterious tone to his voice. I nod stiffly. He stands up slowly and walks over to the burning plant. He stares at it then sends a harsh blow that singes a whole leaf and stem. "I don't really appreciate you setting my plant on fire…" he lingers a finger across the plant and it wilts rapidly. It starts curling and drying up, you could even hear the crinkling of the leaf. Then it dropps to the ground and makes a soft noise. What…? T-Touch of death?

He looks back at me. "Then we'll start tomorrow. You can go back to Youichi."


	3. The Mission

**Okee so third chapter finally out :DDDDD thank you everyone soo much for your support!**

**P.S. for DEVIlishAngel00, I hope this answers your question ;)**

**sorry if there isn't much romance yet -.- but don't worry, i WILL have some in upcoming chapters! teehee, this is more of an action (?) chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice**

* * *

I exit the room completely disoriented. What is going on? So he says we'll start tomorrow? Start with _what?_ We were gong to do training but then he said "we'll start tomorrow" as if it was something completely different! I decide to not think about it, and search for Youichi who is probably mad at me. I go to the spot we were at earlier to see if he was there. I didn't see him, but I sit down anyway. I plop my elbow on the table and rest my chin on my palm. I sigh, hoping he's not going to ignore me when I find him.

"Onee-chan?" I heard a voice say. I dart my head and try to see where it came from. I keep looking but I don't see him. "Onee-chan." A louder voice said behind me. I turn around and there he was! He peeked his head out of the table behind me.

"Youichi?" I ask, awestruck. He holds his arms out in front of him, as if he wanted me to carry him. He gazes at me with his eyes and pouts a bit. I guess he wants me to carry him, so I pull him out of the table and sit on the chair with him. I sit like that for a while, but get bored. Not that I don't like Youichi, just that I don't really know what I'm supposed to do.

Then the whole class went silent. And stared at something in the back. Persona? I heard clanking footsteps. I then see Persona walk up towards me.

"Nobara." He said loud and sternly. The girl with super small curls and light brown hair walks to him through the crowd shyly. "You will work with Sakura, here. Tomorrow, see me at eight p.m. in the Northern forest.

"Yes." She says quietly looking down. I just nod. I really have no idea what's going on. I'm guessing we're going to need to use our Alices. But for what? I don't really think fire and ice are a good combination. I hope I don't do anything risky. But then again, I have nothing to lose.

I see Persona leave into his secret room, so I decide to ditch.

"Hey, Youichi, wanna go play outside?" I ask shaking him a bit. He nods slightly. I walk quietly to the door and slowly open the knob. I enter the large, radiant hallway, then shut the door behind me. I sigh and decide where to turn. I wonder if I can come inside the special class… I don't really wanna see crimson boy, but it the exit was much closer then the one in my hallway. I walk towards there and I pass the special class. They sound like they're having so much fun. I sigh and simply walk away.

I open the large doors, and it reveals a glowing sun, beautiful sakura trees, stone pathways… No. I hate this school. I walk over to a bench and sit there with Youichi. This was much better than being in that room which reminds me of what kind of person I am.

** ::~Natsume P.O.V.~::**

"Really? You wouldn't do something like that!" I laughed.

"I did! Stupid kid was making fun of the star mark so I decided to use my Alice to drop his ice cream on the ground!" we all laughed, even though it was pretty mean.

"Ugh! Tsubasa! How many times are you going to do that to little kids?" asked Misaki-senpai. She knocks him in the head. "Seriously! You need to stop bullying kids…" I laugh at the "best friends", but really, they act like a couple.

I walk away for a bit, and look out the window. I saw… Mikan? Won't she get in trouble if she's not in class?

"U-Uh, I'll be right back!" I quickly rush out of class.

"Ok bye! Just don't be out too long!" yells Misaki-senpai. I shut the door behind me. I push the doors open and run to Mikan. I can't see her well because the bench faces the other way, but it looks like she's holding something._ Someone._

"Mikan!" I shout. She doesn't turn around. Either she is completely deaf or is ignoring me. Don't pick which one. I finally make it in front of her, and I end up panting really heavily and bent over. "Y-You… shouldn't … skip…class…" she doesn't say anything. I finally catch my breath and straighten my body. "Hey, you shouldn't skip class. Persona might get really mad at you." I then see the little boy she was holding. Kids _like_ her?

I walk closer towards her.

"Who's this?" I say bending in front of the boy. She doesn't respond so I shoot her a look at the top of my eyes. I look at Youichi and smile. I was hoping he would share a smile with me too, except he did the opposite. He gave me a scowl and then clouds started forming behind him. I stared at the clouds as they grew like mist. Then they formed faces.

"Wh-What are those…?" my voice trembling a bit. I step back, trying to get away from them. Mikan stares at me for a while more and doesn't say anything. The spirits surrounded me in a circle and drew closer. What was I supposed to do? Can I run away from them? But… What are they? I grew frantic and they were coming closer and closer. I felt like something awful might happen any moment now. All of a sudden, they make an arc above me. I stand awestruck, not knowing where I should go. _If _I could. I look back at her so she could help me out.

"…Evil spirits." She finally spoke up. She's smirking. How could she smile at a time like this?

"What?" I yell. I decide to just run for it, and rush out of the fog from the spirits. I run and run, then look behind me. To my horror, they're chasing me. I stop then run back towards Mikan and the little boy. I grab the bench behind them and start panting. "Please… stop…" I see Mikan look down at the boy and in two seconds, the spirits were gone. "Wh-What did I do?" I ask plopping down in the bench.

"Dwon't be mean to Onee-chan!" he yelled pointing a finger at me. Still with the scowl. Mikan expressionlessly pats his head.

"Anyway… why do you care if I skip class or not? By the way, how did you see me?" she asks monotonously. She didn't even look at me, just straight ahead at the sakura trees on the other side of the stone pathway.

"Well… You're my partner! I can't let you get hurt. Second, I was just looking out the window, and you walked out. I don't know how that happened." I look over and she just stares at the ground. I sigh and lay back. "Hey… How did you get into this school?" I ask quietly.

"…Why should I tell you that?" she answers coldly.

"It's just a question. Sheesh." She stands up and fixes her skirt with her left hand. She takes a couple steps forward then stops and turns her head to me.

"…Let's just say that… I fought not to get into this school." She turns around and walks away down the path. She _fought_? What does that mean? Is _that _where the marks came from? I run to catch up to her.

"Wait!" she doesn't stop walking. I catch up to her. "What do you mean 'fought'? Did the people force you to come to this school?"

"Never mind. Don't come near me." I guess this does hurt me. But she's just stubborn. She would say that to anyone. I think.

"Hu-! Why are you so mean?" she doesn't say anything. Just keeps walking.

"Look. I don't know how bad your life has been, but I don't think you should be mean to others-"

"Shut up!" she stops and faces me. "You…" she's staring at the ground shaking. "Have no idea what has happened… It's just how I turned out. Anyway…" she starts to walk away and I stand in my place. "I don't want you to see." She finally says. Youichi glares at me while she carries him and sticks his tongue out at me.

I turn back around and go back to my classroom. As I walk, I wonder what she meant. "_I don't want you to see."_ Those words kept echoing in my mind. What did she mean, 'I don't want you to see?' see what? I try to get her out of my mind, but something just isn't right. I feel that she has something very dark kept inside her heart. Something that… she 'doesn't want to show anyone'…

**::~ 7:45 p.m.~:: **(dun-dun-dunnn xD) **::~ Mikan P.O.V. ~::**

I lay down in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous for what's coming. I decide to already start heading towards to the Northern forest. It would take me some time before I got there and I get a feeling Persona is very strict when it comes to time. I swing off the bed, quickly smooth out my skirt and quietly open the door.

I check if there was anyone roaming in the hallways. Luckily there wasn't. I think the curfew is 8, but everyone probably wants to be safe. I turn left and tap silently through the echoing, dark hallway. I pass doors with name signs. 'Imai, Shouda, Koizumi'… you would think that a school so… exclusive would arrange rooms in at least alphabetical order. I find the exit and swing it open. A nice, cool breeze hits my face. I start walking towards the Northern forest. I look behind me to see if anyone was following me. No one. At least not that I saw.

I reach the bench in front of the forest and wait in front of it. Silence. Just crickets. I look around warily and don't see anything. Wait. I think he said _in_ the forest. Well, ok then. I start walking in it as twigs under my feet crack. I step on something sort of soft and it makes a _jii_ sound. I lift my foot up, and in the soft twilight I see a cicada. Gross! I jump back and try to keep walking. I'm normally not really scared of bugs, but cicadas are just gross. I kept walking and it felt like forever. He just said in the forest, so what part in it? You can't blame me for getting lost.

"Sakura." Said a deep voice. I freeze and look around. I stop and see a figure that looks like a ghost. A black cape and mask. Oh. It's Persona. "I see you somehow made it here. Let's go. I'll explain in the car." He says while walking in front of me and Nobara.

"What is this for?" I ask straightforwardly.

"I said I'd tell you later."

"It's gonna take us some time to get out of here so you can at least tell me what this is for."

"Brat," He mutters. "It's a mission. You'll be doing them now every once in a while. You'll be… helping out the school." He steps on a twig.

"Wait, am I gonna need to use my Alice?" I yell. He doesn't respond as if I should know the answer.

"B-But I can't! It's… a limitation." I look down in disappointment.

"Too bad." He says coldly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nobara sulking. She's definitely been here longer, and I'm guessing this isn't her first mission. What do you do in a mission anyways?

**...An hour later…**

To be perfectly honest I am completely terrified. Normally, I'm not really scared when it comes to people, but then again, I've never had to fight them for life. And on top of that, I have to wear a stupid cat mask. There are people here trying to fight me, so I have no choice but to use my Alice. Apparently, I burnt some people pretty badly. Then again, I've been punched and even slashed at. They even threw me and damn, did that hurt when I fell to the ground. Nobara is helping me out my freezing the unknown men. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. Is _this_ what Persona meant by training? So I know what to do here? Maybe he wanted to teach me a lesson for burning things without 'permission'…

Some left over guy in black sunglasses, black dress suit, and spiky blonde hair tries to take a punch at me, but I was too preoccupied in my thoughts that I panic and don't know what to do. Luckily, the guy freezes right in front of me and falls over. I thought my heart would fly out of my chest.

I look over at her and she nods reassuringly. I stare awestruck. We finish off the last person and wait a few more seconds to see if anyone would move. Nobara turns around slowly.

"Let's go." He soft voice said. I trail behind her to Persona's black car that was hidden about fifty feet away from us. He was definitely watching us to see if we were doing it right.

We open the doors and duck in. Nobara sits behind Persona.

"Good." He said. We shut the doors and the overhead light flashes off.

"What the hell? Is that what you were going to train me for?"

"You needed to learn a lesson." He started driving away.

"Oh, for what? Setting a plant on fire that was drying out anyways?"

He doesn't say anything. I sit back in the car and breath heavily from using my Alice. Is this what I'm going to need to do now? I don't wanna risk my life for something that shouldn't be handled by students! I take a deep breath and try to calm down. I then realize how bad my wounds probably are. Various bruises and cuts on my legs, probably from when they sent me flying through the air and I slid on the concrete. Slashes on my arms from when they pulled out a knife. Some of the cuts were when I tried to swing it out of their hands, but if just backfired at me. Although most were when they were swinging it at me. I was definitely going to have bruises on my face too. Probably cuts too. I tried seeing them, but it was too dark.

I sighed, thinking of all the people who were going to be staring and whispering about me. I forgot I still had the mask on my so I throw it off my face onto the floor.

"Hey, what's this stupid mask for anyways?" I snarl at him.

"It limits your Alice." he says simply.

I sat there questioningly because I did not feel my Alice being reduced at all.

**...**

I swing open my door and quickly go to the bathroom to check the cuts. It was about as I thought. Two cuts on my face: one on my left cheek, and the other on my right jaw. They were small ones though. I touched my cheek and it stung, not from a cut, but of a bruise that will come out tomorrow. My legs had very bad scratches on my knees that were still bright red with blood dripping out. My palms also had scratches when I tried to soften the fall. My arms had about four cuts on each. Some were bleeding worse than others.

I sigh. Thinking how I should show up tomorrow.


	4. Central Town Mistake

**Okee, so fourth chapter! Sorry if they get OOC here! I wanted to sort of spice things up in this one :DD**

* * *

I slide into my bed and try to go to sleep. I thought about the marks on my body, how sacrificed it had gotten from this stupid mission. And this was only my _first _one.

Wait.

I think now I realize what Persona meant by 'paying with my body'… It was sacrificed by marks. I paid him with the work and cuts I received. So pain is like money to him.

Sick person. Using children to do dirty work. I'm seeing the real light of this school. It wasn't just a school that forced me to come here. The school also makes children injure themselves and risk their lives.

…

I wake up earlier today so I can do something about the scars. It's near the end of spring so I don't want to wear my long-sleeved uniform, and I'd probably sweat to death. If I put too many Band-Aids on, it'll be just as noticeable. Make-up? Why on Earth would I have make-up. I guess I have no choice but to school this way. I'll try my best to hide the scars. There isn't really much of another choice.

I slide into my uniform and head out. I don't see any girls out yet, probably because it's still kind of early and they're getting ready. Probably extra pretty for the crimson boy, especially that permy girl. I can't believe that annoying kid actually has a fan club. He's just annoying. And cheerful.

I reach the classroom and peek to see if anyone was inside. I saw only two people that I didn't know their names- A straight faced kid with black hair and round glasses, and a girl with wavy beige hair. I sat in the back with my usual position and stare at the ceiling. I cross my arms horizontally so that I try to cover at least the scars on my arm. Wait. I forgot about my legs. If I'm like this they'll definitely see them. I quickly swing off the table and cross my arms on it so I can rest my head to cover the marks. Although I don't sit like this a lot so people will probably think something's wrong.

As I stare at the board in front of me, I hear distant laughing. And it gets louder and louder. I shift my gaze to the door and see four people walk in. First is of course, crimson boy. Second is bunny boy who is laughing next to him, third is ice girl and fourth is the four-eyed coward. I quickly turn back to the board so the crimson can't see me looking at me. A few seconds later, I see Permy walk in waving her hand and laughing awkwardly with about five other girls behind her.

"Oh, Natsume, you're so funny!" she laughed awkwardly, obviously trying to get him to notice her. A smile crept up on my face because it was funny how he completely ignored her. He walked down the aisle towards here while still talking to bunny boy. He turns around and faces me.

"…Mikan…" he said with a joking distaste in his voice. I just make a quick glance at him. It feels so strange to be in this position. But it's how I'll manage without everyone making an enormous scene of it. Crimson-boy slides into his seat and lays back. I feel him look over at me.

"Hey… is something wrong?" he asks leaning forward, but I don't respond. Maybe he'll leave me alone. "Did something happen with you and Persona?" he asked with his voice rising. I shoot him a glare to shut up and look back at the board. "Well I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me, Ruka, Hotaru and Iinchou to Central Town tomorrow." He sighed. Central Town?

"…What's that?" I mutter into my arm.

"Oh, so you might come?" excitement rising in his voice. "Well, it's basically a place for the students at Alice Academy to shop at. You use the Rabbits you're your allowances to pay. Do you have any?"

Rabbits? That's what they call the currency here? Such a stupid name. Though I think I got some when I came here. Ten, I think.

"…Ten." I mutter.

"Oh, then you'll be able to buy something! Like maybe…-"

"Howalon." I heard a voice interrupt. I look over and see bunny boy smiling at me. I nod slightly. Maybe because I didn't care or I needed to concentrate on hiding my marks.

"Hey, but really, are you ok?" he repeats.

"Yes I'm fine, now leave me alone."

He sighs and leans back. "Geez I'm just asking."

I don't say anything and wait tediously wait for Narumi to come in. He finally waltzes into class wearing some weird purple leopard print shirt and a matching boa scarf. What in the world goes on in his head? He twirls around the room and blows kisses. Oh… please just stop… I shut my eyes to ignore the horror before my eyes.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked annoyingly. No. Don't talk to me. I hate you and all the other teachers here. "Well, I guess she's just being herself." I dart my eyes open and see him making a teasing wink at me. I can't take it anymore so I storm out of class from the back exit. I have no idea where I'm walking but I just go anywhere. I think I'm heading towards the girls dorm.

"Sakura!" I hear his annoying voice call but I just roll my eyes and keep walking. He catches up to me and grips my arm. I whip it away.

"Don't touch me!" I scream. That was probably too loud. I saw some people start to peek out the door past Narumi. I grunt and turn back around.

"Sakura!" I don't stop. "What happened to your arms? And face…" his voice fades.

I stop but don't turn around. "As if you don't know what this school makes us do!" I turn around and look him straight in the eye. "You're part of them so I'd think you would know." My voice deepened. I glare at him for a few more seconds but I can't take him anymore so I storm back around. I don't hear anything more from him. Good.

"…Except I do know." He finally speaks up but I don't stop at all. I kept tapping down the stone hall. I don't care what teachers or anyone in this school thinks of me. Because I don't care about them. And also for putting me in this hell.

**::~ Natsume P.O.V. ~::**

I leaned my head against the wall next to the door so that I could try to hear something. Mikan screamed at Narumi and said something about him not knowing. Then he said that he did know, and walked back into class. I rushed out of class to catch up to her.

…

"Mikan!" I'm trying to catch up to her but she already made it towards the end of the hall. I'm running faster and then I see her turn left angrily with her hair flying back. I was glad that at least she wasn't telling me to go away. I reach my hand out, yeah, as if that would help. I'm starting to breathe very heavily but I'm still running. I turn left and see her standing vertically to the wall, nearly touching it. Her fists are clenched very tightly and she's shaking. I approached her slowly in the silent hallway. Her bangs are covering her face while her mouth is quivering. She actually looks like she might break down and cry right there.

I take a very slow step forward and the tap of my boot echoes. I approach her even closer this time and now I'm about two feet in front of her.

"Mikan…?" I ask lowering my head a bit. She just stands there then takes a small step forward with her mouth still quivering. As a reflex, I take a half step back with my left foot, thinking she might punch me or something. She takes a larger step and throws her arms around my neck. Eh? What? I'm standing teetering on my legs and my arms are thrown at the sides in confusion. I can feel… Her heart beating… It was very fast but it's actually… slowing down… Mikan…? Her arms feel strong and warm. Shaking. I can't hear her cry, but I feel her neck straining to hold back tears. Her hands around my neck…? What do I feel right now? I think I'm actually happy she's opened up a bit to me. Let herself trust me. Even if it's just a bit. She takes a sharp breath and thrusts my shoulders back then rushes to the girls' dorms. I watch her walk away angrily and wipe a tear from her right eye with a fist. I stand there completely awestruck of what she just did. What should I think of that? I still feel her heart pounding. Her arms around my neck. Her chin… on my shoulder…

I finally snap out of it and turn back around. I rush back hoping that no one saw that little… scene. As I walk down the hallway, Iinchou is running towards me frantically.

"Natsume-kun! Is everything alright with Sakura?" he asked worriedly. I nod and try to move past him. He turns on his heel and follows me. "What's wrong? You're face is red." I freeze. Is it really red? I slowly turn around, trying to calm down.

"It's because I was running really fast." I say calmly.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" he walks next to me and smiles. "Sorry, I forgot!"

"It's fine."

…

**::~ Saturday~:: ::~ Natsume P.O.V. ~::**

I gathered my Rabbits and shoved them into my pocket. I wonder if Mikan's coming. Although I probably won't be able to face her after yesterday. I probably shouldn't think too much about it, since right now I'm probably the closest thing she has to a friend. Not including that little evil spirit boy.

I exit my room and walk towards Ruka's. I'm still probably blushing so I try to relax and fan off. I stop in front of Ruka's room, take a deep breath and knock.

"Ruka! It's me! We're gonna start going now." I turn my ear towards the door.

"Ok! I'm coming." He shouts back.

I step away from the door so he can come out. I lean against the wall and wait. I finally hear the door open and push myself off the wall. To my amazement, I see Imai come out first and Ruka follows her.

"Umm…?" I question completely unaware that Imai would come out of his room.

"Don't freak out. I just needed to talk to him." she said with her usual emotionless expression and stoic voice.

"Uh…ok." I manage to say. Ruka turns and shuts the door. He faces me.

"Did you bring your Rabbits?" he asked trying to change the subject, obviously nervous.

"Yeah. And Iinchou said he couldn't come. He said something important came up." I shrug.

"Is Mikan coming?" Imai asks and we all turn to her. Oh no, why did she need to ask. I felt my face immediately turn red. She stares at me waiting for an answer but it really feels like she's staring in my soul to figure out why I'm red.

"Uh, I don't know. She might," I quickly turn around and start walking so they don't notice my face. "C'mon let's go."

I hear them jog to me. Ruka is to my left and Imai is next to him. Good because it's like she detect anything.

"Hey…" said Ruka. I look over to him and his head is bowed down a bit. "Did you guys notice the marks on her? They were everywhere. It's like someone tried to beat her." His voice softened.

I just sigh and keep walking.

We finally come outside to see the bus idling. We step up towards the stairs and search for some seats through the aisle. Ruka and I slide into the seats and Imai sits in front of us. We watch as more and more people fill up the seats laughing loudly with their friends. I'm glad they're having fun. I try peering over the seats if Mikan comes. So far in the crowd of people I don't see her. After a while I see a little boy. Floating? Wait no… Mikan's holding him! Oh no. Blush. Stop blushing. She should, because she's the one that hugged me. Yes. I have nothing to worry about. I watch her head turn to check each seat with Youichi (I learned his name from someone) acting innocent as ever. What if she sat next to Hotaru? Probably not. She's coming closer and closer. Oh no, why couldn't I get the window seat. She finds a seat diagonally from me and slides into it with Youichi. Wait, did Mikan see me? Maybe she did and tried to avoid eye contact with me.

Ugh, stop thinking about her! She's just a girl that's violent and mean and can't socialize well and… has a soft side. I see Youichi's back and hair peer out of the seat. I can hear them pretty well, but then again they are only about two feet away from me.

The bus finally moves and we sway a bit. After a while of just sitting, Youichi clutches Mikan's right arm hard and I see him stare at it.

"Onee-chan, what happened to youw arm?" he asked frantically.

I don't hear her respond but she takes her arm away calmly.

"No! It _is_ something! Wook at youw knees! And youw face! Its allw red! What happened?" he yelled.

Most people on the bus got quiet including me and Ruka. Youichi seemed very serious, even though he's a three year old. Now that I think about it, when Mikan was trembling, I saw her knee red but I didn't think about it too much. Is that why she was sitting like that in class? To cover the cuts on her arms? I tried to listen for anything she might say and watch for sudden changes in Youichi's behavior if it reveals anything that Mikan might say. Youichi is staring intently at Mikan then turns around with his arms crossed and making a 'hmph'. She either told him to not make a scene and he got mad and embarrassed, or she said that he shouldn't worry and it's fine, so he got mad because it really is a big deal.

We sway forward a bit as the bus stopped. People started crowding the walkway as they stood up which made it really hard to get off. I waited with Ruka until everyone got off. We stood up and apparently only one person was left. It had to be Mikan, of course. I rushed off the bus leaving Ruka, Imai and Mikan on the bus. I'm surrounded by many people and don't know where to go. I find a bench across the sea of people and try to make my way through. I make it and plop down. Hm, where are they? Wait… what if they ask her to talk with us? No, no, no, no I cannot face her. But at the same time what happened to her arms? And… everything else.

I see Imai and Ruka coming, but I see Youichi behind them. Oh no. Ruka pushes through the group with Imai shooting her baka gun at strangers. They make it in front of me, and Ruka gestures behind him.

"I asked Mikan to come with us-."

"You forced me."

"And she agreed." He replied with a nervous smile. I watch as Imai fixes up her baka gun and reloads it. "I mainly wanted to ask her because me and Imai needed to talk about something important so we didn't want you to be alone!" he said nervously, but Imai still looks as emotionless as always. What? _Alone_ with Mikan?

"Let's go Imai." He grabs her hand and rushes into the crowd. I watch as she was just about ready to shoot him.

I turn back to Mikan and she's staring into blank space in front of me. I sigh and stand up.

"Ok! So where do you wanna go?" I ask with a smile. We start walking slowly towards random stores.

"I don't know. Why are you asking me? This is my first time here." She said looking bored as ever. Does she not care at all for what she did yesterday?

"Hmm…" why does she have to be so difficult? "Oh! I got it. Let's try some Howalon!"

She shrugs, but I guess it's better than insulting me.

"Ok, let's go!" I beam and instinctively grab her hand. I push through the crowd and try to find the store. Wait. I'm still holding her hand. Why didn't she pull away? Why did I grab it in the first place? I look behind me only to see that her head is down with her bangs covering her face, and Youichi is of course scowling at me.

I turn back around and see the long line to the Howalon shop. I stop in front of it then slowly walk to the back of the line. When we stop, she jerks her hand away from mine. I'm not really surprised though. There's a really weird and awkward silence as we wait so I try to break it.

I turn to face her. "Is there anything you want to buy? There's many strange things here that you won't be able to buy anywhere else." I ask smiling.

She doesn't look up. "That's why I don't want anything from here. I don't want anything that comes from the school."

Woah… she really hates this school. I sigh and turn back around where the line is still pretty long.

…

"Thank you!" I smile at the employee and slide my box off the table to face Mikan. Except she wasn't there. I darted my head left and right to see where she is in the crowd of people, but I didn't see her small figure.

"If you're looking for the girl, she went that way." I turned to see a lady with short but wavy brown hair and a bit on the chubby side point behind her towards where the sakura trees are.

"Thank you!" I nod to her then run in the direction her hand was pointing. I slow down and walk towards the sakura trees hoping to see her laid back on one or maybe even on it. I slow down when I reach the grassy area and start looking for her. I walk deeper into it and see outstretched crossed legs behind a tree. I smile and walk towards her.

"Surprise!" I pop out behind her and place the box next to her. Her arms are resting her head against the tree with her eyes closed. She didn't budge when I popped out. I sit on the opposite side of the tree and stare at the sky bordered with pink petals.

"Hey…" I hesitate whether I should ask her this or not. "Can you tell me where you got the marks on your body."

"…Why were you looking at me? Besides, it's nothing you should concern yourself with."

I walk over to her and yank her arm. She opens her eyes and glares at me. "No, I should be concerned! This is not ok! What are they making you do?" she yanked her arm out.

"Leave me alone."

"No I can't because you're my partner!"

"That has nothing to do with my personal problems."

"So you admit you _do _have problems!"

She grunts and doesn't say anything after. I plop back on the opposite side of the tree and sigh. "You shouldn't get hurt like that."

After a while of silence, I hear the hollow sound of the box opening. Is she going to try them? Well she better after I just bought them. I crawl on my hands and move towards her, right next to her face while she holds one in her hand.

"…Get away from me. Or else I won't eat it."

"But I wanna see your reaction when you take a bite," I push myself up from the ground and now I'm standing on my knees. "C'mon, eat it!"

"Leave me alone."

"No, I wanna see your reaction up close!" I yelled. She stared at me in distaste while I just smiled.

Then I felt something hit the back of my head. Something soft, but firm hit my head and I lost my balance, falling forward towards Mikan. I tried to grab her for balance, but she only fell down with me. I close my eyes to brace the impact. Except when I open them, the only things I see are two chocolate orbs.

And something soft on my lips.

* * *

**WWOOOOAAAAHHHHHH CLIFFIE! TEEHHEHE**

**Btw, i'm fine for suggestions :D cuz I'm not exactly sure how to continue this (as in what sort of climax)**


End file.
